In the final days to prevent a government shutdown that is scheduled to start on Tuesday of next week, the US House will vote on a three-month funding agreement on Wednesday.
The House is likely to approve the stopgap financing legislation, also known as a continuing resolution, or CR, in spite of opposition from a number of Republicans. Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, presented the legislation to the public on Sunday, following the failure of his initial financial proposal to be approved the previous week.
The initial version of Johnson’s plan included a funding measure for a period of six months in addition to the controversial Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (Save) act. This act would include a provision that would compel individuals to present evidence of their citizenship when they register to vote. On Wednesday, fourteen Republicans in the House of Representatives and all but two Democrats in the House voted against the bill, preventing it from being passed.
A few days later, Johnson made the announcement that the House of Representatives will move forward with a “very narrow, bare-bones CR” that will extend funding for the government until December 20th, so giving in to the demands that Democrats had been making for weeks.
Johnson said in a letter titled “Dear Colleague” that was sent out on Sunday, “Since we found ourselves falling a little short of the goal line, an alternative plan is now required.” “Despite the fact that this is not the option that any of us would choose, it is the most responsible strategy for moving forward given the current circumstances. It would be an act of political malpractice to shut down the government fewer than forty days before a crucial election, as the lessons of history have taught us and the results of the most recent polls have shown.
Following the two recent attempts on Donald Trump’s life, the new bill includes an additional $231 million for the Secret Service “for operations necessary to carry out protective operations, including the 2024 Presidential Campaign and National Special Security Events.” This provision comes in response to the fact that the Secret Service has to carry out protective operations.
Considering that Johnson plans to take up the continuing resolution while the rules are suspended, it is clear that he will require the backing of two-thirds of the chamber in order to successfully pass the bill. The leaders of the Democratic caucus in the House have suggested that the majority of their members will support the spending plan given that it does not contain any “poison pills” from the right-wing.
According to Pete Aguilar, the chair of the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday, “I don’t think there’s any question that House Democrats want to govern.” “Tomorrow, you will see how many House Democrats vote to avoid a shutdown in comparison to the number of House Republicans who vote.”
There is a high probability that the bill will be met with substantial opposition from conservative Republicans, who have already expressed their unwavering disapproval of continuing resolutions that are just for a short period of time.
“I would strongly recommend that individuals do not vote for this CR. Republican from Kentucky Thomas Massie said there is still time to pursue other interests during a rules committee hearing on Monday. In addition, if we were going to do something, we ought to carry out a CR for the entire year.
In order to exert pressure on Republicans to adopt a much more comprehensive full-year funding bill, often known as an omnibus, before their December recess, Massie said that Johnson is attempting to push for a stopgap measure that would last for three months.
At a press conference held on Tuesday, Johnson vehemently refuted the claim, saying to the reporters present, “We have broken the Christmas [omnibus], and I have no intention of going back to that dreadful practice. When we get to the lame duck, we will deal with that.
The funding package will go to the Senate after the House of Representatives has approved it in order to prevent a government shutdown. The Senate will have less than a week to adopt the legislation.Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, expressed his confidence that the chamber will move quickly to adopt the bill and bring it to Joe Biden’s desk by the following Tuesday.
In a speech that he delivered on Monday to the floor, Schumer stated that in order to fulfil the funding deadline, “both sides will need to act with continued bipartisan good faith and with a sense of urgency.” “A shutdown is still a possibility, even if there is a delay or a poison pill at the very last minute. I have faith that this will not take place, and I pray that it will not.
Despite popular anticipation that negotiations would ultimately result in a three-month continuing resolution, Schumer expressed his continued irritation with the fact that the financing arrangement was reached at the eleventh hour. The delay was attributed to Trump, who had urged Republican senators to reject any financing measure that did not include provisions for “election security.” Schumer accused president Trump for the delay.
“This agreement could have very easily been reached weeks ago, but Speaker Johnson and House Republicans chose to listen to Donald Trump’s partisan demands instead of working with us from the beginning to reach a bicameral, bipartisan agreement,” Schumer said. “This agreement could have been reached very easily.” This is an outrageously cynical statement: Donald Trump is well aware that a shutdown would result in chaos, anguish, and unnecessary heartache for the people of the United States. But, as is his custom, he appears to be completely unconcerned.
Trump’s potential retaliation against Johnson for failing to pass a financing package that is tied to “election security” measures is yet unknown, and it is also uncertain when Trump may take such action. Johnson has downplayed the possibility of disagreement between himself and Trump by insisting that there is “no daylight” between the two of them in terms of their ideas.
On Tuesday, Johnson made the statement to the media. “President Trump understands the current dilemma and the situation that we are in,” Johnson said. So, we will continue to collaborate closely with one another. I’m not going to go against President Trump. I believe that he is aware of the fact that we are successfully doing our task.